The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, told Fianna Fβil backbenchers yesterday that giveaway pre-election budgets had failed to work in the past 30 years, and not to expect one in December.
Mr McCreevy told the TDs, who were attending a special budgetary breakfast meeting yesterday, that, having studied political developments since 1969, one realised that no government had been re-elected during that time. It went to prove, he apparently told them, that vote-buying budgets, which were meant to re-elect governments, did not work.
One TD who attended said the Minister's "situation" coming up to next month's budget was realised.
"There was a lot of talk that we musn't be talking up the problems and making things worse than they are. Charlie told us he was between a rock and a hard place trying to dampen down expectations but not to do it too much and end up fuelling a recession."
According to another TD the mood of the meeting was good. "I suspect some people were a little surprised at that. After the recent media coverage they expected to be lectured at and instead it was fairly positive. People may have had fears that they were being conditioned for something extremely negative."
However another TD took a different view. "I think they were setting the tone for the budget and saying 'look lads, there is going to be nothing in it (the budget) and stay off the plinth once the details come out'.
"We all knew because of the media reports, and other reports from the inner sanctum, that all is not well. We were listened to but, really, the budget story has already been written."
That TD said Mr Ahern told them there was no point in throwing money at the health services.
"Bertie said that even if you bucketed money into the health services it wouldn't do any good and there needed to be reform. At our recent parliamentary party meeting, specially to discuss health services, they were described by one person 'as a bureaucratic octopus without a heart'."
The breakfast meeting was attended by some 30 backbenchers, and 27 spoke.
Party chairman Mr Rory O'Hanlon said Mr Ahern had said he was not going for a "cheap-shot pre-election budget but one based on merit and the current economic climate" .
Mr O'Hanlon said there were a number of issues mentioned - the 9 per cent stamp duty on residential investments imposed last year, and calls for it to be abolished; the health services; education; and that the budget should be fair to all sectors in society.
Other issues included carers, the elderly, the National Development plan and the issue of asylum-seekers.